Gated Bipolar Junction Transistors, Memory Arrays, and Methods of Forming Gated Bipolar Junction Transistors

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments include gated bipolar junction transistors. The transistors may include a base region between a collector region and an emitter region; with a B-C junction being at an interface of the base region and the collector region, and with a B-E junction being at an interface of the base region and the emitter region. The transistors may include material having a bandgap of at least 1.2 eV within one or more of the base, emitter and collector regions. The gated transistors may include a gate along the base region and spaced from the base region by dielectric material, with the gate not overlapping either the B-C junction or the B-E junction. Some embodiments include memory arrays containing gated bipolar junction transistors. Some embodiments include methods of forming gated bipolar junction transistors.

RELATED PATENT DATA

This patent resulted from a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/613,876 which was filed Feb. 4, 2019, which is a divisional ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/037,642 which was filed Mar. 1,2011, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Gated bipolar junction transistors, memory arrays, and methods offorming gated bipolar junction transistors.

BACKGROUND

Memory is one type of integrated circuitry, and is used in computersystems for storing data. Integrated memory is usually fabricated in oneor more arrays of individual memory cells. The memory cells might bevolatile, semi-volatile, or nonvolatile. Nonvolatile memory cells canstore data for extended periods of time, and in some instances can storedata in the absence of power. Non-volatile memory is conventionallyspecified to be memory having a retention time of at least about 10years. Volatile memory dissipates, and is therefore refreshed/rewrittento maintain data storage. Volatile memory may have a retention time ofmilliseconds, or less.

The memory cells are configured to retain or store memory in at leasttwo different selectable states. In a binary system, the states areconsidered as either a “0” or a “1”. In other systems, at least someindividual memory cells may be configured to store more than two levelsor states of information.

Nonvolatile memory may be used in applications in which it is desired toretain data in the absence of power. Nonvolatile memory may also be usedin applications in which power is a limited resource (such as inbattery-operated devices) as an alternative to volatile memory becausenonvolatile memory may have the advantage that it can conserve powerrelative to volatile memory. However, read/write characteristics ofnonvolatile memory may be relatively slow in comparison to volatilememory, and/or nonvolatile memory may have limited endurance (forinstance, nonvolatile memory may only function for about 10⁵ read/writecycles before failure). Thus, volatile memory is still often used, evenin devices having limited reserves of power. It would be desirable todevelop improved nonvolatile memory and/or improved semi-volatilememory. It would be further desirable to develop memory cells that arenonvolatile or semi-volatile, while having suitable read/writecharacteristics and endurance to replace conventional volatile memory insome applications.

Integrated circuitry fabrication continues to strive to produce smallerand denser integrated circuits. It can be desired to developsmall-footprint memory cells in order to conserve the valuable realestate of an integrated circuit chip. For instance, it can be desired todevelop memory cells that have a footprint of less than or equal to 4F²,where “F” is the minimum dimension of masking features utilized to formthe memory cells.

It would be desirable to develop new memory cells which can benon-volatile or semi-volatile, and which have may have a footprintapproaching 4F².

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of an example embodimentmemory cell.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of another exampleembodiment memory cell.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of another exampleembodiment memory cell.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of another exampleembodiment memory cell.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic schematic view of an example embodiment memoryarray comprising memory cells of the type shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 diagrammatically illustrates an example embodiment operationalarrangement for utilizing the memory array of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic schematic view of another example embodimentmemory array comprising memory cells of the type shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 diagrammatically illustrates an example embodiment operationalarrangement for utilizing the memory array of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic schematic view of an example embodiment memoryarray comprising memory cells of the type shown in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 10 and 11 diagrammatically illustrate example embodimentoperational arrangements for utilizing the memory array of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic schematic view of another example embodimentmemory array comprising memory cells of the type shown in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 13 and 14 diagrammatically illustrate example embodimentoperational arrangements for utilizing the memory array of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of another exampleembodiment memory cell.

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of another exampleembodiment memory cell.

FIGS. 17 and 18 diagrammatically illustrate process stages of an exampleembodiment method for fabricating an array of memory cells.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments include memory cells comprising one or morewide-bandgap materials; with a “wide-bandgap material” being a materialhaving a bandgap measurably greater than the 1.12 eV bandgap of silicon.In some embodiments, the wide-bandgap material may have a bandgap of 1.2eV or greater. In some embodiments, the wide-bandgap material may have abandgap of 2.3 eV or greater, and may, for example, comprise one or moreforms of silicon carbide.

The memory cells may be gated bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), andmay comprise electrically floating bodies. In some embodiments, thewide-bandgap material may be utilized in the floating bodies and/or indepletion regions adjacent the floating bodies. Such utilization of thewide-bandgap material may enable formation of random access memory (RAM)having longer retention time than conventional dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), while also having suitably fast read/writecharacteristics to substitute for conventional DRAM in someapplications. Additionally, or alternatively, the wide-bandgap materialmay enable formation of memory having retention times of several years,and thus may enable formation of nonvolatile memory. In someembodiments, the nonvolatile memory may have endurance approaching, oreven exceeding, the endurance of conventional DRAM (such as endurancesuitable to survive 10⁶ or more read/write cycles).

Example gated BJT memory cells are described with reference to FIGS.1-4.

Referring to FIG. 1, a memory cell 10 comprises a base region 12 betweena pair of emitter/collector regions 14 and 16. The regions 12, 14 and 16may be comprised by a pillar-type structure in some embodiments, andsuch structure may be referred to as a BJT pillar.

The emitter/collector region 14 interfaces with the base region 12 at ajunction 13, and similarly the emitter/collector region 16 interfaceswith the base region 12 at a junction 15. In operation, one of theemitter/collector regions will be the emitter region of the BJT device,and the other will be the collector region of the device. The junctionbetween the base region and the emitter region may be referred to as aB-E junction, and the junction between the base region and the collectorregion may be referred to as a B-C junction.

The emitter/collector regions 14 and 16 are shown to be electricallycoupled to electrical nodes 18 and 20, respectively. One of the nodes 18and 20 may correspond to a bitline (i.e., a digit line or sense line).The other of the nodes 18 and 20 may correspond to a wordline (i.e., anaccess line) in some embodiments, or to a ground or other electricallystatic structure in other embodiments.

The illustrated BJT of memory cell 10 has the base oppositely doped tothe emitter/collector regions; and specifically comprises a p-type baseand n-type emitter/collector regions. In other embodiments, the baseregion and emitter/collector regions may comprise other dopingarrangements, as illustrated in FIGS. 2-4.

The symbols “+” and “−” are utilized in FIG. 1 (and various otherfigures of this disclosure) to indicate dopant levels. Some or all ofthe designations p+, p, p−, n−, n and n+ may be used to indicate variouslevels and types of doping. The difference in dopant concentrationbetween the regions identified as being p+, p, and p− may vary dependingon the particular material being doped. An example dopant concentrationof a p+ region is a dopant concentration of at least about 10¹⁹atoms/cm³ (and in some example applications may be from about 10¹⁹atoms/cm³ to about 10²⁰ atoms/cm³), an example dopant concentration of ap region is from about 10¹⁸ to about 10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, and an exampledopant concentration of a p− region is less than about 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³(and in some embodiments may be less than or equal to about 5×10¹⁷atoms/cm³). The regions identified as being n−, n and n+ may have dopantconcentrations similar to those described above relative to the p−, pand p+ regions, respectively.

It is noted that the terms “p” and “n” can be utilized herein to referto both dopant type and relative dopant concentrations. The terms “p”and “n” are to be understood as referring only to dopant type, and notto a relative dopant concentration, except when it is explicitly statedthat the terms refer to relative dopant concentrations. Accordingly, forpurposes of interpreting this disclosure and the claims that follow, itis to be understood that the terms “p-type doped” and n-type doped”refer to dopant types of a region and not to relative dopant levels.Thus, a p-type doped region can be doped to any of the p+, p, and p−dopant levels discussed above, and similarly an n-type doped region canbe doped to any of the n+, n, and n− dopant levels discussed above.

The dopants utilized in memory cell 10 may be any suitable dopants. Insome embodiments, at least part of the memory cell will comprisewide-bandgap material. An example wide-bandgap material is siliconcarbide, and such may be n-type doped with, for example, one or more ofN (such as from N₂ and/or NH₃), P (such as from PH₃) and As (such asfrom AsH₃). Alternatively, the silicon carbide may be p-type doped with,for example, one or more of B (such as from B₂H₆), Al (such as fromAlCl₃, trimethylaluminum and triethylaluminum) and Ga (such as fromtrimethylgallium).

In operation, depletion regions 22 and 24 may be induced between baseregion 12 and the emitter/collector regions 14 and 16, respectively. Thedepletion regions are diagrammatically illustrated with cross-hatching.Approximate boundaries of the depletion region 22 are illustrated withdashed lines 23, and approximate boundaries of the depletion region 24are illustrated with dashed lines 25.

The memory cell 10 has a gate 26 along the base region 12. In operation,the base region may comprise an electrically floating body of the memorycell. The gate may be used to enable charge to be selectively stored onsuch floating body, or to be drained from the floating body. Thus, thememory cell may have two selectable memory states, with one of thestates having more charge stored on base region 12 than the other state.

The illustrated BJT is configured as a vertical pillar having a pair ofopposing sidewalls 29 and 31, and the gate 26 is shown to be bifurcatedinto a pair of segments 33 and 35, with each segment being along one ofthe opposing sidewalls. In some embodiments, the illustrated memory cellmay be one of a plurality of memory cells of a memory array, and theillustrated segments 33 and 35 of the gate may correspond to a pair oflines that extend along multiple memory cells of a row or column of thearray to interconnect multiple memory cells. Such lines would extend inand out of the page relative to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1. Thesegments 33 and 35 may join with one another at some location outside ofthe view of FIG. 1 so that the illustrated segments 33 and 35 areactually two parts of the same gate.

The gate 26 comprises a material 27. Such material may comprise anysuitable substance, and may, for example, comprise one or more ofvarious metals (for instance, titanium, tungsten, etc.),metal-containing compositions (for instance, metal silicide, metalnitride, etc.), and conductively-doped semiconductor materials (forinstance, conductively-doped silicon, conducted-doped geranium, etc.).

The gate 26 is spaced from the sidewalls 29 and 31 of the BJT pillar bydielectric material 30. The dielectric material may comprise anysuitable composition or combination of compositions. In someembodiments, at least a portion of the BJT pillar comprises one or moreforms of silicon carbide, and at least a portion of the dielectricmaterial 30 that is directly against the silicon carbide comprises apassivation composition containing silicon, oxygen and nitrogen. Suchpassivation composition may be formed by chemically reacting a surfaceof the silicon carbide with oxygen and nitrogen, and/or by depositing acomposition containing silicon, oxygen and nitrogen along the surface ofthe silicon carbide.

In some embodiments, an entirety of dielectric material 30 may comprisethe passivation composition containing silicon, oxygen and nitrogen. Inother embodiments, the dielectric material 30 may comprise two or moredifferent compositions, with the composition directly against surfacesof the BJT pillar being the passivation material, and with one or moreother compositions being between the passivation material and the gate26. Such other compositions may comprise, for example, one or both ofsilicon dioxide and silicon nitride.

In the shown embodiment, the gate 26 is along base region 12 of the BJT,but does not overlap the B-C and B-E junctions 13 and 15. Further, thegate does not overlap the depletion regions 22 and 24 during operationof the BJT. In the shown configuration in which the BJT is within avertical pillar, the gate 26 may be considered to vertically overlap thebase region, and to not vertically overlap the depletion regions 22 and24.

It can be advantageous for gate 26 to not overlap depletion regions 22and 24 in that such can alleviate or eliminate a source of leakagewithin the memory cell. Specifically, a gated BJT memory cell may haveprimary leakage mechanisms that include gate-induced leakage (which maybe referred to as gate-induced-drain-leakage, i.e., GIDL), base/emitterjunction leakage, and base/collector junction leakage. If the gate 26overlaps the depletion regions, then a significant leakage mechanismwithin the memory cell may be gate-induced leakage, and such may be amuch larger contribution to the leakage within the memory cell than thecombination of intrinsic base/emitter junction leakage and intrinsicbase/collector junction leakage. In the shown example embodiment of FIG.1, the gate does not overlap the depletion regions, and thus onlycouples with the base region. Accordingly, the gate-induced leakage, ifany, may be a small contribution to the overall leakage within thememory cell; and thus the overall leakage through the memory cell may belimited to the intrinsic leakage of the two junctions. This can enablethe memory cell of FIG. 1 to have much longer retention times thanconventional DRAM, and in some embodiments to have retention timessuitable for utilization in nonvolatile memory.

The BJT pillar of memory cell 10 may be considered to be subdivided intonumerous regions, as explained with reference to the scales I, II andIII shown in FIG. 1.

Scale I illustrates that the BJT pillar may be considered to comprise afirst emitter/collector region 14, a base region 12, and a secondemitter/collector region 16. The regions 12 and 14 interface at thejunction 13, and the regions 12 and 16 interface at the junction 15.

Scale II illustrates that the BJT pillar may be considered to comprise afirst outer region 40 corresponding to the portion of theemitter/collector region 14 that is outward of the depletion region 22,a second outer region 42 corresponding to the portion of theemitter/collector region 16 that is outward of the depletion region 24,and an inner region 44 between the outer regions 40 and 42. The innerregion 44 interfaces with outer region 40 at an outermost edge ofdepletion region 22, and interfaces with outer region 42 at an outermostedge of depletion region 24.

Scale III illustrates that the BJT pillar may be considered to comprisethe outer regions 40 and 42, the depletion regions 22 and 24, and aneutral base region (or floating body region) 46 between the depletionregions.

As discussed above, the BJT pillar may comprise one or more wide-bandgapmaterials. The wide-bandgap materials may advantageously improveretention time of the memory cell relative to narrower-bandgap materials(such as silicon) by reducing leakage within the memory cell. In someembodiments, wide-bandgap material is provided at least across thejunctions 13 and 15 in wide enough expanses to fully encompass depletionregions 22 and 24. Thus, the wide-bandgap material is provided acrossthe locations where the wide-bandgap material may reduce base/collectorjunction leakage and base/emitter junction leakage. In some embodiments,the wide-bandgap material may be provided as strips extending acrossdepletion regions 22 and 24, and thus the regions 40, 46 and 42 of scaleIII may be narrow-bandgap materials (such as silicon). In suchembodiments, the wide-bandgap material across depletion region 22 may bethe same composition as the wide-bandgap material across depletionregion 24, or may be a different composition to tailor the BJT for aparticular application of the memory cell 10.

Possible means by which the wide bandgap materials may reduce leakagewithin the BJT are as follows. Intrinsic leakage may be considered to bederived through two different mechanisms, and to approximatelycorrespond to whichever of the mechanisms predominates. One of themechanisms is generation of intrinsic carriers in depletion regions, andthe other is diffusion of intrinsic carriers in the neutral regions. Theconcentration of intrinsic carriers (n_(i)) may be represented byEquation I:

$\begin{matrix}{n_{i} = e^{(\frac{- {Eg}}{2{kT}})}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} I}\end{matrix}$

In Equation I, E_(g) is the bandgap, T is temperature, and k isBoltzmann's constant. Intrinsic leakage will be approximatelyproportional to n_(i) for a leakage mechanism corresponding togeneration of intrinsic carriers in depletion regions, and will beapproximately proportional to (n_(i))² (i.e., the squared concentrationof intrinsic carriers) for a leakage mechanism corresponding todiffusion of intrinsic carriers in neutral regions. In either event, anincrease in bandgap exponentially reduces n_(i), and thus exponentiallyreduces leakage. Further, since the leakage mechanism corresponding todiffusion of intrinsic carriers in neutral regions is proportional to(n_(i))², while the leakage mechanism corresponding to generation ofintrinsic carriers in depletion regions is proportional to n_(i), theleakage mechanism corresponding to diffusion of intrinsic carriers inneutral regions reduces very quickly with increasing bandgap so that theleakage mechanism corresponding to generation of intrinsic carriers indepletion regions is the predominant leakage mechanism for wide-bandgapmaterials.

The reduction in leakage obtained utilizing wide-bandgap materials maybe enormous. For instance, substitution of 3C—SiC (bandgap 2.52 eV) forsilicon (bandgap 1.12 eV) may decrease n_(i) by about 10 orders ofmagnitude (i.e., 10¹⁰) at 85° C. Retention may be directly proportionalto leakage (all other things being equal), and thus a memory cellutilizing 3C—SiC may have 10 orders of magnitude better retention thanan analogous memory cell utilizing silicon. In some embodiments, amemory cell utilizing 3C—SiC may have a retention time of at least about10 years, or even at least about 20 years.

The wide-bandgap materials may be provided anywhere in the BJT pillarwhere leakage may be problematic. For instance, it may be advantageousto provide wide-bandgap material across the region 40 of scale III whensuch region corresponds to an emitter region of the BJT (such as, forexample, if the BJT is an npn BJT, the node 20 is a bitline, and thememory cell is operated in accordance with methodology described belowwith reference to FIGS. 5 and 6). In such embodiments, the wide-bandgapmaterial across region 40 may be the same or different than thewide-bandgap material across one or both of the depletion regions 22 and24. It may also be advantageous to provide wide-bandgap material withinthe regions 42 and 46 of scale III either to prevent leakage, or tosimplify fabrication of memory cell 10 in embodiments in whichwide-bandgap material as provided within depletion regions 22 and 24.Accordingly, in some embodiments wide-bandgap material is providedacross all of the regions 40, 22, 46, 24 and 42 of scale III. In suchembodiments, the same wide-bandgap material may be provided across allof the regions 40, 22, 46, 24 and 42 so that the entirety of thevertical BJT pillar comprises, consists essentially of, or consists ofonly one wide-bandgap material. In other embodiments, one or more of theregions 40, 22, 46, 24 and 42 may comprise a different wide-bandgapmaterial than another region to tailor the memory cell 10 for aparticular application.

In some embodiments, wide-bandgap material may be provided across region44 of scale II to extend across the base region 12 and the depletionregions 22 and 24. In such embodiments, the wide-bandgap material mayalso extend across one or both of the regions 40 and 42 of the scale II.For instance, it may be advantageous for the wide-bandgap material toextend across region 40 if region 40 is an emitter region of the BJT.Further, it may be advantageous for the wide-bandgap material to extendacross region 42, either to alleviate a leakage mechanism, or tosimplify fabrication of the memory cell having the wide-bandgap materialin region 44. If wide-bandgap material extends across one or both ofregions 40 and 42, in addition to region 44, the material may be thesame across all of the regions 40, 44 and 42, or may differ in one orboth of the regions 40 and 42 relative to region 44 to tailor the memorycell 10 for a particular application.

The wide-bandgap material may comprise any suitable composition. In someembodiments, the wide-bandgap material may comprise silicon and carbon,and may comprise one or more forms of silicon carbide. For instance, thewide-bandgap material may comprise, consist essentially of, or consistof the 3C form of silicon carbide in some embodiments, and thus may havea bandgap greater than 2.3 eV (specifically, such form of SiC has abandgap of 2.36 eV).

FIG. 2 shows an example embodiment memory cell 10 a analogous to thememory cell 10 of FIG. 1, but comprising a pnp BJT rather than an npnBJT. The memory cell 10 a of FIG. 2 is labeled with identical numberingto that used above to describe FIG. 1, and comprises identical featuresas the memory cell of FIG. 1 except for the different dopant typeutilized in the base and emitter/collector regions.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show example embodiment memory cells 10 b and 10 c,respectively. The memory cells 10 b and 10 c are analogous to the memorycell 10 of FIG. 1, but comprise a same conductivity type throughout thebase 12 and the emitter/collector regions 14 and 16. The dopant level inthe base region is, however, less than the dopant levels in thebase/collector regions. The memory cells 10 b and 10 c of FIGS. 3 and 4are labeled with identical numbering to that used above to describe FIG.1, and comprise identical features as the memory cell of FIG. 1 exceptfor the dopant types utilized in the base and emitter/collector regions.The junctions 13 and 15 of FIGS. 3 and 4 differ from those of FIG. 1 inthat they are interfaces where different dopant levels meet, rather thanbeing interfaces where different dopant types meet. In operation, thegates 26 of the memory cells 10 b and 10 c may electrically induce achange in dopant type within the base regions coupled to such gates sothat the BJTs of the memory cells function as npn and pnp BJTs,respectively, even though the BJTs are not initially doped as npn or pnpBJTs.

The memory cells of FIGS. 1-4 may be utilized in memory arrays. FIG. 5diagrammatically illustrates a memory array 50 comprising a plurality ofmemory cells 10 of the type described above with reference to FIG. 1.Each memory cell is schematically illustrated as a gated BJT, with thegate 26 illustrated to be capacitively coupled to the base 12 (thecapacitive coupling is through the dielectric 30, which is not shown inFIG. 5). The illustrated BJTs of FIG. 5 have the region 14 as theemitter region and the region 16 as the collector region, but suchorientation may be reversed in other embodiments.

The memory array 50 comprises a series of bitlines, a first series ofwordlines (the series identified as WL₁), and a second series ofwordlines (the series identified as WL₂). In some embodiments, the node20 of FIG. 1 may correspond to a bitline (BL), the node 18 of FIG. 1 maycorrespond to a wordline of the first series (WL₁), and the gate 26 ofFIG. 1 may be along a wordline of the second series (WL₂). In suchembodiments, the emitter/collector regions 16 of memory cells 10 may beconsidered to be first emitter/collector regions which are directlycoupled with bitlines, and the emitter/collector regions 14 of thememory cells may be considered to be second emitter/collector regionswhich are electrically coupled with the first series of wordlines. Eachmemory cell of array 50 may be uniquely addressed through combinationscontaining one of the bitlines together with one of the wordlines WL₂and/or one of the wordlines WL₁. The wordlines may be alternativelyreferred to as access lines in some embodiments, and the bitlines may bealternatively referred to as sense lines in some embodiments.

FIG. 6 diagrammatically illustrates various operations that may beutilized for programming individual memory cells of the array 50 into a“0” data state (i.e., “write 0” operations), programming the individualmemory cells into a “1” data state (i.e., “write 1” operations), and forreading the memory cells to ascertain the data states of the individualmemory cells. FIG. 6 also diagrammatically illustrates voltage of theP_(base) (i.e., the base 12 of FIG. 1) during the various operations.Example voltage levels for the various states indicated in FIG. 6 mayinclude (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV):

-   -   VBLID=0 Volt (V)    -   VBLW0=2V    -   VBLRD=0V (D0, 0V; D1, 1V)    -   VBLW1=0V    -   VW1ID=0V    -   VW1WT=3V    -   VW1RD=5V    -   VW2ID=−3V    -   VW2WT=2V    -   VW2RD=−2V

The terms “D0” and “D1” indicate voltages read for the “0” data stateand the “1” data state, respectively, of the memory cell. The exampleoperations of FIG. 6 may advantageously achieve a high p-baseprogramming margin (greater than or equal to about 1 V) between the D0and D1 memory states of the memory cell, which may provide a sufficientcharge to enable long retention by the memory cell, and to provide amargin against variation and disturb modes. Also, the various voltagesutilized for the reading and writing operations may be kept atrelatively low levels (less than or equal to about 5 V) which may enableoperation of the memory cell with modest power drain.

Another set of example voltage levels for the various states indicatedin FIG. 6 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV):

-   -   VBLID=0V    -   VBLW0=3V    -   VBLRD=0V (D0, 0V; D1, 1V)    -   VBLW1=0V    -   VW1ID=0V    -   VW1WT=5V    -   VW1RD=5V    -   VW2ID=−3V    -   VW2WT=2V    -   VW2RD=−2V

It is noted that the “write 0” operation has a lower voltagedifferential between WL₁ and the bitline than does the “write 1”operation. The lower voltage differential between the bitline and WL₁allows charge to drain from the P_(base), while the higher voltagedifferential between the bitline and WL₁ results in charge being trappedon the P_(base). Various mechanisms may account for such relationship.For instance, high-voltage differentials between the bitline and WL₁during capacitive coupling of the base with gate 26 can lead to impactionization, a Kirk effect, a Webster effect and/or other mechanismswhich limit charge transfer through the BJT, and thus can lead to chargebeing trapped on the floating base of the BJT. In contrast, low-voltagedifferentials between the bitline and WL₁_during the capacitive couplingof the gate with the base may permit a steady flow of charge through theBJT, and thus may permit charge to be drained from the floating base.

A possible explanation for the reason that the lower voltagedifferential between the bitline and WL₁ allows charge to drain from theP_(base), while the higher voltage differential between the bitline andWL₁ results in charge being trapped on the P_(base) is as follows. Whenthe voltage differential is high, there is impact ionization in thecollector-base region. This supplies a base current (I_(b)) to the npnbipolar transistor. A collector current (I_(c)) results, which isrelated to the base current through Equation II.

I _(c) =β*I _(b)  Equation II

In Equation II, β is the npn current gain.

The impact ionization current is equal to α_(n)*I_(c), where an is theimpact ionization efficiency; and is a function of electric fielddivided by voltage. This leads to the relationship of Equation III.

I _(b)=α_(n) *I _(c)  Equation III

If (α_(n)*β)>1, the cell latches. Once the cell latches, the gate (26 ofFIG. 5) losses control of the P_(base) and cannot couple to it. Hence,even if the gate voltage is brought down, the P_(base) voltage stayshigh. In contrast, with a low voltage differential the cell does notlatch, the gate has good coupling to the P_(base), and pulling the gatevoltage down will also pull the P_(base) voltage down.

FIG. 7 diagrammatically illustrates an example embodiment memory array50 a comprising a plurality of memory cells 10 of the type describedabove with reference to FIG. 1. The memory array of FIG. 7 is similar tothat of FIG. 5, except that the first series of wordlines (WL₁ of FIG.5) has been replaced with nodes 51. The nodes 51 are at a common voltageas one another, and in some embodiments may be electrically coupled withone another and with a common terminal (for instance, they may all beconnected to a grounded plate).

In some embodiments, the node 20 of FIG. 1 may correspond to the bitline(BL) of FIG. 7, the node 18 of FIG. 1 may correspond to a node 51, andthe gate 26 of FIG. 1 may be along a wordline of the series (WL₂). Insuch embodiments, the emitter/collector regions 16 of memory cells 10may be considered to be first emitter/collector regions which aredirectly coupled with bitlines, and the emitter/collector regions 14 ofthe memory cells may be considered to be second emitter/collectorregions which are electrically coupled with one another and with acommon terminal. Each memory cell of array 50 a may be uniquelyaddressed through combinations containing one of the bitlines togetherwith one of the wordlines WL₂.

FIG. 8 diagrammatically illustrates various operations that may beutilized for programming individual memory cells of the array 50 a intoa “0” data state (i.e., “write 0” operations), programming theindividual memory cells into a “1” data state (i.e., “write 1”operations), and for reading the memory cells to ascertain the datastates of the individual memory cells. FIG. 8 also diagrammaticallyillustrates voltage of the P_(base) (i.e., the base 12 of FIG. 1) duringthe various operations. Example voltage levels for the various statesindicated in FIG. 8 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV, andassuming a common voltage on nodes 51 of 0V):

-   -   VBLID=2V    -   VBLW0=2V    -   VBLRD=5V (D0, 5V; D1, 4V)    -   VBLW1=4V    -   VW2ID=−3V    -   VW2WT=2V    -   VW2RD=−1.4V

FIG. 9 diagrammatically illustrates another example embodiment memoryarray 50 b. The memory array of FIG. 9 comprises a plurality of memorycells 10 a of the type described above with reference to FIG. 2. Thememory array of FIG. 9, like that of FIG. 5, comprises a series ofbitlines, a first series of wordlines (the series identified as WL₁),and a second series of wordlines (the series identified as WL₂). In someembodiments, the node 20 of FIG. 2 may correspond to a bitline (BL), thenode 18 of FIG. 2 may correspond to a wordline of the first series(WL₁), and the gate 26 of FIG. 2 may be along a wordline of the secondseries (WL₂). In such embodiments, the emitter/collector regions 16 ofmemory cells 10 a may be considered to be first emitter/collectorregions which are directly coupled with bitlines, and theemitter/collector regions 14 of the memory cells may be considered to besecond emitter/collector region which are electrically coupled with thefirst series of wordlines. Each memory cell of array 50 b may beuniquely addressed through combinations containing one of the bitlinestogether with one of the wordlines WL₂ and/or one of the wordlines WL₁.

FIG. 10 diagrammatically illustrates various operations that may beutilized for programming individual memory cells of the array 50 b intoa “0” data state (i.e., “write 0” operations), programming theindividual memory cells into a “1” data state (i.e., “write 1”operations), and for reading the memory cells to ascertain the datastates of the individual memory cells. FIG. 10 also diagrammaticallyillustrates voltage of the N_(base) (i.e., the base 12 of FIG. 2) duringthe various operations. Example voltage levels for the various statesindicated in FIG. 10 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV):

-   -   VBLID=5V    -   VBLW0=4V    -   VBLRD=5V (D0, 5V; D1, 4V)    -   VBLW1=5V    -   VW1ID=5V    -   VW1WT=1V    -   VW1RD=0V    -   VW2ID=5V    -   VW2WT=0V    -   VW2RD=4V

Another set of example voltage levels for the various states indicatedin FIG. 10 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV):

-   -   VBLID=5V    -   VBLW0=3V    -   VBLRD=5V (D0, 5V; D1, 4V)    -   VBLW1=5V    -   VW1ID=5V    -   VW1WT=0V    -   VW1RD=0V    -   VW2ID=5V    -   VW2WT=0V    -   VW2RD=4V

FIG. 11 diagrammatically illustrates another set of operations that maybe utilized for programming individual memory cells of the array 50 b ofFIG. 9 into a “0” data state (i.e., “write 0” operations), programmingthe individual memory cells into a “1” data state (i.e., “write 1”operations), and for reading the memory cells to ascertain the datastates of the individual memory cells. FIG. 11 also diagrammaticallyillustrates voltage of the N_(base) (i.e., the base 12 of FIG. 2) duringthe various operations. Example voltage levels for the various statesindicated in FIG. 11 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV):

-   -   VBLID=0V    -   VBLW0=2V    -   VBLRD=0V (D0, 0V; D1, 1V)    -   VBLW1=0V    -   VW1ID=0V    -   VW1WT=4V    -   VW1RD=5V    -   VW2ID=5V    -   VW2WT=0V    -   VW2RD=4V

Another set of example voltage levels for the various states indicatedin FIG. 11 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV):

-   -   VBLID=0V    -   VBLW0=3V    -   VBLRD=0V (D0, 0V; D1, 1V)    -   VBLW1=0V    -   VW1ID=0V    -   VW1WT=5V    -   VW1RD=5V    -   VW2ID=5V    -   VW2WT=0V    -   VW2RD=4V

FIG. 12 diagrammatically illustrates an example embodiment memory array50 c comprising a plurality of memory cells 10 a of the type describedabove with reference to FIG. 2. The memory array of FIG. 12 is similarto that of FIG. 9, except that the first series of wordlines (WL₁ ofFIG. 9) have been replaced with nodes 53. The nodes 53 are at a commonvoltage as one another, and in some embodiments may be electricallycoupled with one another and with a common terminal (for instance, theymay all be connected to an electrically conductive plate).

In some embodiments, the node 20 of FIG. 2 may correspond to the bitline(BL) of FIG. 12, the node 18 of FIG. 2 may correspond to a node 53, andthe gate 26 of FIG. 2 may be along a wordline of the series (WL₂). Insuch embodiments, the emitter/collector regions 16 of memory cells 10 amay be considered to be first emitter/collector regions which aredirectly coupled with bitlines, and the emitter/collector regions 14 ofthe memory cells may be considered to be second emitter/collectorregions which are electrically coupled with one another and with acommon terminal. Each memory cell of array 50 c may be uniquelyaddressed through combinations containing one of the bitlines togetherwith one of the wordlines WL₂.

FIG. 13 diagrammatically illustrates various operations that may beutilized for programming individual memory cells of the array 50 c intoa “0” data state (i.e., “write 0” operations), programming theindividual memory cells into a “1” data state (i.e., “write 1”operations), and for reading the memory cells to ascertain the datastates of the individual memory cells. FIG. 13 also diagrammaticallyillustrates voltage of the N_(base) (i.e., the base 12 of FIG. 2) duringthe various operations. Example voltage levels for the various statesindicated in FIG. 13 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV, andassuming a common voltage on nodes 53 of 5V):

-   -   VBLID=3V    -   VBLW0=3V    -   VBLRD=0V (D0, 0V; D1, 1V)    -   VBLW1=0V    -   VW2ID=5V    -   VW2WT=0V    -   VW2RD=3.4V

FIG. 14 diagrammatically illustrates another set of operations that maybe utilized for programming individual memory cells of the array 50 c ofFIG. 12 into a “0” data state (i.e., “write 0” operations), programmingthe individual memory cells into a “1” data state (i.e., “write 1”operations), and for reading the memory cells to ascertain the datastates of the individual memory cells. FIG. 14 also diagrammaticallyillustrates voltage of the N_(base) (i.e., the base 12 of FIG. 2) duringthe various operations. Example voltage levels for the various statesindicated in FIG. 14 may include (assuming a bandgap of 2.3 eV, andassuming a common voltage on nodes 53 of 0V):

-   -   VBLID=2V    -   VBLW0=2V    -   VBLRD=5V (D0, 5V; D1, 4V)    -   VBLW1=4V    -   VW2ID=5V    -   VW2WT=0V    -   VW2RD=3.4V

The memory cells of FIGS. 1-4 may be readily incorporated intosemiconductor constructions. FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate examplesemiconductor constructions comprising the memory cell 10 of FIG. 1, andthe memory cell 10 a of FIG. 2, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 15, a semiconductor construction 60 comprises memorycell 10 supported over a semiconductor substrate 62. The substrate 62may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of monocrystallinesilicon in some embodiments, and is shown to be p-type background doped.The terms “semiconductive substrate,” “semiconductor construction” and“semiconductor substrate” mean any construction comprisingsemiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulksemiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone orin assemblies comprising other materials), and semiconductive materiallayers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials). Theterm “substrate” refers to any supporting structure, including, but notlimited to, the semiconductive substrates described above. Althoughsubstrate 62 is shown to be homogenous, the substrate may comprisenumerous materials in some embodiments. For instance, substrate 62 maycorrespond to a semiconductor substrate containing one or more materialsassociated with integrated circuit fabrication. Example materials thatmay be associated with integrated circuit fabrication are various ofrefractory metal materials, barrier materials, diffusion materials,insulator materials, etc.

The memory cell 10 is part of a substantially vertical pillar 64. Suchpillar includes an n-type doped segment 66 directly over thesemiconductor material of substrate 62 (the segment 66 is shown doped toan n+ dopant level). In some embodiments, segment 66 may comprisemonocrystalline silicon patterned from substrate 62, and/or may comprisesemiconductor material deposited over substrate 62. The segment 66 isshown electrically coupled with an electrically conductive material 68that interconnects with node 18. The conductive material 68 may be anysuitable material; including, for example, any of various metals,metal-containing compositions, and/or conductive-doped semiconductormaterials. The conductive material 68 may be a separate material fromthe conductively-doped material of segment 66 (as shown), or may be anextension of the conductively-doped material 66. In some embodiments,segment 66 may be omitted and emitter/collector region may directlycontact a conductive node 18 comprising, consisting essentially of, orconsisting of any of various metals and/or metal-containingcompositions.

The pillar 64 is referred to as being “substantially vertical” toindicate that it extends substantially orthogonally to a primary uppersurface of the substrate. Specifically, the term “vertical” is usedherein to define a relative orientation of an element or structure withrespect to a major plane or surface of a wafer or substrate. A structuremay be referred to as being “substantially vertical” to indicate thatthe structure is vertical to within reasonable tolerances of fabricationand measurement.

The pillar 64 also includes an n-type doped segment 70 directly over theemitter/collector region 16. The segment 70 may comprise silicon and/orany other suitable semiconductor material. The segment 70 is shownelectrically coupled with an electrically conductive material 72 thatinterconnects with node 20. The conductive material 72 may be anysuitable material; including, for example, any of various metals,metal-containing compositions, and/or conductive-doped semiconductormaterials. The conductive material 72 may be a separate material fromthe conductively-doped material of segment 70 (as shown), or may be anextension of the conductively-doped material 70. In some embodiments,segment 70 may be omitted and emitter/collector region 16 may directlycontact a conductive node 20 comprising, consisting essentially of, orconsisting of any of various metals and/or metal-containingcompositions.

Referring to FIG. 16, a semiconductor construction 60 a comprises memorycell 10 a supported over a semiconductor substrate 62 a. The substrate62 a may comprise any of the compositions discussed above with referenceto the substrate 62 of FIG. 15.

The memory cell 10 a is part of a substantially vertical pillar 64 a.Such pillar includes a p-type doped segment 66 a directly over thesemiconductor material of substrate 62 a. The segment 66 a is shownelectrically coupled with an electrically conductive material 68 a thatinterconnects with node 18. The conductive material 68 a may be any ofthe materials discussed above with reference to the material 68 of FIG.15. The conductive material 68 a may be a separate material from theconductively-doped material of segment 66 a (as shown), or may be anextension of the conductively-doped material 66 a. In some embodiments,segment 66 a may be omitted and emitter/collector region may directlycontact a conductive node 18 comprising, consisting essentially of, orconsisting of any of various metals and/or metal-containingcompositions.

The pillar 64 a also includes a p-type doped segment 70 a directly overthe emitter/collector region 16. The segment 70 a may comprise siliconand/or any other suitable semiconductor material. The segment 70 a isshown electrically coupled with an electrically conductive material 72 athat interconnects with node 20. The conductive material 72 a maycomprise any of the materials discussed above with reference to thematerial 72 of FIG. 15. The conductive material 72 a may be a separatematerial from the conductively-doped material of segment 70 a (asshown), or may be an extension of the conductively-doped material 70 a.In some embodiments, segment 70 a may be omitted and emitter/collectorregion 16 may directly contact a conductive node 20 comprising,consisting essentially of, or consisting of any of various metals and/ormetal-containing compositions.

In some embodiments, the memory cells having wide-bandgap material maybe formed along one or more levels (or tiers) of an integrated circuitchip, and may be formed over one or more levels of logic or othercircuitry fabricated by conventional methods (for instance, such othercircuitry may comprise MOSFET transistors). Additionally, oralternatively, one or more levels of conventional circuitry may befabricated over the memory cells containing the wide-bandgap material.

The various memory cells and memory arrays of FIGS. 1-16 may be formedutilizing any suitable processing. For instance, FIGS. 17 and 18illustrate an example process for fabricating a memory array 50 a of thetype shown in FIG. 7 comprising memory cells 10 of the type shown inFIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 17, a semiconductor construction 80 comprises asubstrate 82 having an n-type doped region 83 over a p-type doped region81. The substrate 82 may be a semiconductor substrate analogous to thesubstrate 62 discussed above with reference to FIG. 15. Accordingly, theregions 81 and 83 may be conductively-doped regions of a monocrystallinesilicon wafer, and/or may be conductively-doped regions formed along atier of a partially-fabricated integrated circuit.

Conductively-doped regions 12, 14 and 16 of a memory cell stack 84 areformed over substrate 82. In some embodiments, the entire stack 84 maycomprise, consist essentially of, or consist of doped wide-bandgapmaterial (such as, for example, 3C—SiC). If doped region 83 comprisesmonocrystalline silicon and the wide-bandgap material comprises siliconcarbide, the wide-bandgap material may be epitaxially grown over themonocrystalline silicon.

A difficulty encountered in incorporating wide-bandgap materials (suchas, for example, silicon carbide) into integrated circuit fabricationsequences is that dopant activation within the wide-bandgap materialsmay utilize a thermal budget which is too high for many of thecomponents conventionally utilized in integrated circuitry. A method ofreducing the thermal budget for dopant activation is to in situ dope thewide-bandgap material during epitaxial growth of such material.

A patterned mask 97 is formed over memory cell stack 84, with suchpatterned mask defining a pattern corresponding to a plurality ofopenings 99 that extend through the mask. The patterned mask maycomprise any suitable composition and may be formed with any suitableprocessing. For instance, the mask may comprisephotolithographically-patterned photoresist. As another example, themask may comprise one or more structures formed utilizing pitchmultiplication methodologies.

Referring to FIG. 18, a pattern is transferred from mask 97 (FIG. 17)into stack 84 with one or more suitable etches, and then the mask isremoved. The memory cell stack 84 is thus patterned into substantiallyvertical BJT pillars 88. Subsequently, dielectric material 30 is formedalong sidewalls of the pillars.

Electrically-conductive interconnects 90 are formed between the pillarsand in electrical connection with doped region 83. The interconnects 90may be electrically coupled with one another through doped region 83and/or through other interconnections, and may all be electricallyconnected to a common terminal so that they are all tied to the commonvoltage 51 (as shown).

The dielectric material 30 may be formed by initially providing surfacepassivation along outer exposed surfaces of pillars 88. Such surfacepassivation may comprise providing a layer containing silicon, oxygenand nitrogen along the outer surfaces. Such layer may be formed bynitridation/oxidation of exposed outer surfaces of silicon carbide insome embodiments, and/or by deposition of passivation material along theexposed outer surfaces. The dielectric material 30 may consist of thepassivation layer in some embodiments. In other embodiments, additionaldielectric materials may be formed along the passivation layer to form adielectric material 30 comprising the passivation layer in combinationwith other dielectric materials. Such other dielectric materials maycomprise, for example, one or both of silicon dioxide and siliconnitride.

In some embodiments, material 90 may comprise metal or otherthermally-sensitive material, and an advantage of forming conductivematerial 90 after the doping of wide-bandgap material is that such canavoid exposure of the thermally-sensitive material to the thermal budgetutilized for the doping of the wide-bandgap material.

Electrically insulative material 92 is formed over conductive material90 and between the pillars 88, and then the conductive material 27 isformed and patterned over insulative material 92 to form the gates 26.Subsequently, another insulative material 94 is formed over gates 26 andinsulative material 92. The electrically insulative materials 92 and 94may comprise any suitable compositions or combinations of compositions,including for example, one or more of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride,and any of various doped oxide glasses (for instance,borophosphosilicate glass, phosphosilicate glass, fluorosilicate glass,etc.). The electrically insulative materials 92 and 94 may be the samecomposition as one another in some embodiments, and may differ incomposition from one another in other embodiments.

A bitline 100 is formed across the pillars 88, and in direct electricalcontact with the upper doped regions 16 within such pillars. The bitline100 may be considered to be an example of a node 20 (FIG. 1) that may beformed in direct electrical connection with the upper emitter/collectorregions 16 of the illustrated example embodiment memory cells. Bitline100 may comprise any suitable electrically conductive material, and may,for example, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of one or moreof various metals, metal-containing compositions and conductively-dopedsemiconductor materials. Although the bitline is shown formed directlyagainst the emitter/collector region 16, in other embodiments there maybe one or more electrically-conductive materials between the bitline andthe emitter/collector region (such as, for example, an electricallyconductive material analogous to the conductively-doped semiconductormaterial 70 of FIG. 15).

The construction 80 has a dimension from one side of a pillar to a sameside of an adjacent pillar of 2F, and thus the individual memory cellsmay have footprints of about 4F².

Although FIGS. 17 and 18 pertain to formation of memory cells 10 of thetype shown in FIG. 1 in a memory array of the type shown in FIG. 7,persons of ordinary skill will recognize that similar processing may beutilized to form any of the other memory cells described in thisdisclosure in any of the memory arrays described in this disclosure.

The memory cells and memory arrays discussed above may be incorporatedinto integrated circuit chips or packages, and such may utilized inelectronic devices and/or systems. The electronic systems may be usedin, for example, memory modules, device drivers, power modules,communication modems, processor modules, and application-specificmodules, and may include multilayer, multichip modules. The electronicsystems may be any of a broad range of systems, such as, for example,clocks, televisions, cell phones, personal computers, automobiles,industrial control systems, aircraft, etc.

The particular orientation of the various embodiments in the drawings isfor illustrative purposes only, and the embodiments may be rotatedrelative to the shown orientations in some applications. The descriptionprovided herein, and the claims that follow, pertain to any structuresthat have the described relationships between various features,regardless of whether the structures are in the particular orientationof the drawings, or are rotated relative to such orientation.

The cross-sectional views of the accompanying illustrations only showfeatures within the planes of the cross-sections, and do not showmaterials behind the planes of the cross-sections in order to simplifythe drawings.

When a structure is referred to above as being “on” or “against” anotherstructure, it can be directly on the other structure or interveningstructures may also be present. In contrast, when a structure isreferred to as being “directly on” or “directly against” anotherstructure, there are no intervening structures present. When a structureis referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another structure,it can be directly connected or coupled to the other structure, orintervening structures may be present. In contrast, when a structure isreferred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” toanother structure, there are no intervening structures present.

In compliance with the statute, the subject matter disclosed herein hasbeen described in language more or less specific as to structural andmethodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the claimsare not limited to the specific features shown and described, since themeans herein disclosed comprise example embodiments. The claims are thusto be afforded full scope as literally worded, and to be appropriatelyinterpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A method of forming a gated bipolar junction transistor, comprising:epitaxially growing one or more wide-bandgap materials over amonocrystalline silicon substrate, with a wide bandgap being a bandgapgreater than or equal to 1.2 eV; the one or more wide-bandgap materialsbeing doped during the epitaxial growth to form a stack of at leastthree regions; the three regions being, in ascending order from thesubstrate, a first region, a second region and a third region; the firstand second regions joining at a first junction region, and the secondand third regions joining at a second junction; patterning theepitaxially-grown materials into a plurality of substantially verticaltransistor pillars extending upwardly from the substrate; the firstregions within the pillars being electrically coupled toconductively-doped regions of the substrate; forming one or moredielectric materials along sidewalls of the transistor pillars; andforming gates along the transistor pillars and spaced from thetransistor pillars by the one or more dielectric materials, the gatesvertically overlapping the second regions of the transistor pillars andnot vertically overlapping either of the first and second junctions. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the second region is doped to a differentconductivity type than the first and third regions.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the second region is doped to a same conductivity typeas the first and third regions, but to a lower concentration than thefirst and third regions.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprisingelectrically coupling the conductively-doped regions of the substratewith one another and a common terminal.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereinthe one or more wide-bandgap materials correspond to one or more formsof silicon carbide.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein at least some ofthe silicon carbide is 3C—SiC.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the oneor more dielectric materials include a passivation layer formed directlyagainst the sidewalls of the transistor pillars and comprising silicon,oxygen and nitrogen.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the one or moredielectric materials include only the passivation layer.
 9. The methodof claim 7 wherein the one or more dielectric materials include otherdielectric materials formed over the passivation layer.
 10. A method offorming a gated bipolar junction transistor, comprising: forming awide-bandgap material having a bandgap greater than or equal to 1.2 eVover a monocrystalline silicon substrate, the wide-bandgap materialforming a stack of at least three regions; the three regions being, inascending order from the substrate, a first region, a second region anda third region; the first and second regions joining at a first junctionregion, and the second and third regions joining at a second junction;patterning the high band-gap material into a plurality of substantiallyvertical transistor pillars extending upwardly from the substrate; andforming gates along the transistor pillars and spaced from thetransistor pillars by one or more dielectric materials, the gatesvertically overlapping the second regions of the transistor pillars andnot vertically overlapping either of the first and second junctions. 11.The method of claim 10 wherein the second region is doped to a differentconductivity type than the first and third regions.
 12. The method ofclaim 10 wherein the second region is doped to a same conductivity typeas the first and third regions, but to a lower concentration than thefirst and third regions.
 13. The method of claim 10 wherein the wideband-gap material corresponds to one or more forms of silicon carbide.14. A method of forming a memory array, comprising: forming a series ofaccess lines; forming a series of bitlines; forming a plurality of gatedbipolar junction transistors, individual gated bipolar junctiontransistors comprised by the plurality of gated bipolar junctiontransistors each being uniquely addressed through combinationscontaining a single bitline comprised by the series of bitlines and asingle access line comprised by the series of access lines, each of theindividual gated bipolar junction transistors comprising: forming avertical transistor pillar having a pair of opposing sidewalls, the pairof opposing sidewalls including a first sidewall and a second sidewall,the vertical transistor pillar having a base region between a pair ofemitter/collector regions, one of the pair of emitter/collector regionsbeing a first emitter/collector region and the other being a secondemitter/collector region, the first emitter/collector region interfacingthe base region at a first junction and the second emitter/collectorregion interfacing the base region at a second junction, the firstemitter/collector region being directly electrically coupled with thesingle bitline; forming a first depletion region disposed at aninterface of the base region and the first emitter/collector region, andforming a second depletion region disposed at an interface of the baseregion and the second emitter/collector region, the first depletionregion and the second depletion region each comprising a silicon carbidematerial having a bandgap greater than or equal to 1.2 eV at 300 K, atleast a portion of the vertical transistor pillar comprising anon-silicon carbide material having a narrow bandgap; and forming a gatealong the base region of the vertical transistor pillar, the gate notvertically overlapping either of the first junction and the secondjunction; and forming a dielectric material extending along an entiretyof a vertical height of each of the first sidewall and the secondsidewall of the vertical transistor pillar, a portion of the dielectricmaterial along the first depletion region comprising silicon, oxygen andnitrogen.
 15. The memory array of claim 14 further comprising couplingall of the second emitter/collector regions with one another and with acommon terminal.
 16. The memory array of claim 14 wherein the series ofaccess lines is a first series of access lines, and further comprisingforming a second series of access lines, one of the access linescomprised by the second series of access lines being directlyelectrically coupled with the second emitter/collector region.